Processor Update on the XPS 720 & 720 H2C

Tue. Aug. 07, 2007

Update—August 8, 4:30pm CDT:  My apologies to XPS 7xx customers. I published this post last night at 10:15pm, but did not publish it on the home page of Direct2Dell. Sorry for the error on my part.

Several of you have been following the QX6800 quad core processors on the H2C since my earlier post. In that post, I had said we expected to fulfill orders at 3.73GHz (QX6800 overclocked to Bin +3) within 4 weeks. Since we were able to do that sooner than originally thought, we upgraded the orders to Next Day delivery and shipped them to customers instead of going the callback route like we had originally planned.

Since we worked through those pending orders last week, we are now offering the QX6800 at 3.73GHz on new XPS 720 H2C systems. Beyond that, I'm also getting questions on the quad core QX6850 and whether or not we will support it.  The XPS team is currently testing the QX6850 to learn the high end characteristics of the chip, so we haven't yet made a decision about it yet.

If you are an existing XPS 720 H2C customer who has a QX6800 that's not running at 3.73GHz, please contact XPS Technical Support to troubleshoot. To do so, customers in the United States can call 1-800-232-8544.

Customers outside the United States can do the following to find the appropriate phone number:

  • Go to support.dell.com
  • Choose Contact Us
  • Choose Technical Support
  • Choose Call Technical Support
  • Look for the listing for XPS Support

While I'm on the subject of processors, I've gotten lots of e-mails and comments from folks asking what processors we'll support on the non-H2C XPS 720 motherboard. Here's the current list of processors:

  • E6600  2.4GHz dual core
  • E6700 2.66GHz dual core
  • Q6600 2.4GHz quad core
  • QX6700 2.66GHz quad core
  • QX6800 3.0GHz quad core

I've been keeping up with lots of the questions related to the mobo exchange program and will try to address at least some of them in posts before we launch the program on August 13.

Update, 8/13:  The link for the XPS 700 Exchange Program is now live:

www.XPSUpgradeProgramDell.com

 

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Only published comments... Tuesday, August 07, 2007 10:15 PM
by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger
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Liang Liu said:

Impossible to receive computer in the date !  from 11 Jul 2007, promissed for 31 Jul and then command confirmed with the date of 8 Aug 2007 and NOW , PC will be  PERHAPS !!!!! delivered on 31 Aug 2007.

No replies to mails and student must go back home. Customer satisfaction = first preoccupation of Dell ???

Dell Belgium : file 521254525 - command 622536210 - Customer Nb : BE2734258

 

August 8, 2007 2:39 AM
Jay said:
Will the Q6700 be supported in the near future?
August 8, 2007 6:35 PM
SrRookieX said:
So the "non-H2C" 720 board will not support the X6800 Core 2 extreme?? I believe my XPS700 supports it. I am participating in the mb exchange program. Please advise...
August 8, 2007 7:33 PM
Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger said:
Sr.RookieX: The X6800 Extreme Processor will be supported.
August 8, 2007 7:33 PM
Tim W said:

Lionel

any news on when the 720 (non H2C) will be available in the UK? I see little point in spending the extra cash on the H2C seeing as Dell don't overclock in Britain and I don't plan to O/C myself. Customer Service haven't been any help on this one.....

August 9, 2007 3:43 AM
Chris C said:
What about those of us with the 1.8-2.2 Ghz Procs are they supported or do we have to purchace a better Proc?
August 9, 2007 11:37 AM
Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger said:
Chris C.: The 720 board is backward compatible—no need to buy a new processor.
August 9, 2007 11:37 AM
Dave F said:

Exchange program motherboard replacement doesn't support Intel E6400 dual core? I hope this doesn't mean I'll be forced to buy a new processor in order to take advantage of the motherboard exchange?

 

August 9, 2007 12:44 PM
Chuck Wright said:

Lionel:  Thanks a bunch for working with us XPS 720 H2C folks to get the processor that was promissed us.  I think we still need help.

I called technical support at 1-800-232-8544 per your post on August 8th.  Technical support (John) says he does not know anything about changing the QX6800 processor to one that support overclocking to 3.73.  He checked with his supervisor and he agreed.  He says that technical support is only allowed to change part for the exact part and this would be an upgrade so I have to contact customer service to do this.

I contacted customer service (866-865-7485) and they couldn't help me as I bought the computer under the employee purchase program and they aren't open on the weekend (or at least they could not forward my call).  I'll hold off on making any other calls until you can straighten this out.

So, Lionel, can you please help?  Who should we call?  Thanks.  chuck

 

August 11, 2007 5:00 PM
Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger said:
Chuck: Let me check into this... will let you know.
August 11, 2007 5:00 PM
Mike R. said:

Maybe I missed this somewhere but I am going to do the Motherboard exchange and I currently have the Pentium D processor. Can I still do the exchange or do I have to upgrade my processor?

Thanks 

August 12, 2007 12:40 PM
Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger said:
Mike R.: My bad... in this post, I only focused on the current processors the 720 board will support. It's also backward compatible, so the Pentium D processor will work fine.
August 12, 2007 12:40 PM
Bas T. said:

Well, I for one am feeling severely screwed over to see that a day after my 720 H2C system was delivered (the QX6700 version, which was the only choice available when I ordered, they told me there was no info as to when the QX6800 would be available) , they are now offering XQ6800's (as the ONLY option) at the same price.

If I had known this (and Dell probably knew at the time, they just didn't tell me), I would have postponed my order and I would have gotten the QX6800.

I ordered it in the Netherlands, by the way. Also, I had some MAJOR problems with the actual order process (like Vista was not supported, even though it was available as an option on the website, so now I am forcedly running XP, bah). The delivery also was a mess, with this Walsh Western company forgetting to mention I should contact them to schedule a delivery. Then when I finally decided to look up their phone number (which wasn't even on their website, I had to get it though a phone information service!) and made an appointment, they simply did not show up until the day after. Anyway, the biggest disappointment of all is this screwover with the processor.

Bad move on your side, Dell.

August 13, 2007 5:53 AM
RJohnston said:

I own an XPS-710 with an E6800 processor and one nVidia 8800 GeForce 8800 GTX video board. Does this system warrant a motherboard upgrade? Should the processor be upgraded or is that also included in the upgrade.

I have not been able to find specificatrions that show exactly what improvements are made with the upgrade. Can someone tell me where they are?

Why is the upgrade free (including installation) for 700 owners, but 710 owners must pay a large fee?

Does my Dell hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service cover the installation of the upgrade?

August 15, 2007 10:08 AM
Larry G. Johnson said:
Can the XPS700 be converted to XPS 720 HC? And what is the cost to upgrade to that? Please let me know... Thanks.. Larry
August 15, 2007 6:05 PM
Chris :) said:

Hi Lionel,

Are we going to be receiving our "free" mousepad along with the new motherboard?

"XPS Mouse pads: We will ship an XPS mouse pad to XPS 700 customers at no cost when you schedule your motherboard exchange. "

 :)

Thanks 

August 22, 2007 2:06 PM
Phil Short said:

How soon can a decision in the QX6850 processor be expected? Given that its reportedly more stable than the 6800, its cheaper, and supports 1333FSB it should be a no-brainer - at least that your customers will want it in preference to the 6800. ;)

Having a 720 h2c on (delayed) order at the moment I'm more than a little interested. I will potentially be one "p*ssed-off-and-never-to-return" customer if I wait for my PC then one week after it eventually turns up you start shipping with the 6850. If its imminent I'll wait and have the better processor (and rebate of course, since the chips cheaper).

August 26, 2007 11:26 AM
Stewie said:
Any updates on the QX6850?
September 8, 2007 12:54 PM
Steve said:

I'll be waiting for the 6850 and the Geforce 8800 Ultra, both of which every other PC company is offering already.

Mid September now, when are we likely to know?

 

 

September 13, 2007 8:10 AM
Stewie said:
Any updates on QX6850 Support?
September 22, 2007 5:00 PM
Stewie said:

apparently the 720 can now be ordered with the QX6850.

September 25, 2007 5:33 PM
Brent Williams said:

I've just had the 710H2C -> 720 upgrade, all good but I'd like to know if it's mandatory to return the old MB.  Was told by the tech I will be charged if I don't return it (?!), but that seems to conflict with information on here, can someone confirm either way. 


Thanks
Brent 

October 2, 2007 5:13 PM
Nicholas T said:

Just checking in. Anyone know anything yet about the QX6850 status??

 I need to start shopping for new RAM if so. =)

October 10, 2007 11:46 PM
Ray said:

Hi Lionel,

I just installed the XPS 720 motherboard and get a message on boot "System does not support installed processor" what gives? This is a Q6600 by the way. 

October 12, 2007 7:58 PM
Nathan said:

Just got my upgrade from XPS 710 -> 720. I'm wondering if there is anyway to upgrade it to the H2C version? (eg. by just replacing the heatsink etc)

Upgrade went very smoothly - didn't even have to re-install XP.

October 25, 2007 1:02 AM
Jon said:
Any news on converting a XPS 720 to a XPS 720 H2C?  I'd like to do it if it's available.
November 7, 2007 10:59 PM

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